The most difficult part of our childhood was writing neatly. For most of your school life, you might have struggled to maintain good handwriting. If you were blessed with good handwriting, your speed might have bothered you. And if you have both, you probably are a Handwriting God.
For those of you, who still struggle with unclear handwriting and are often asked about what you have written, this handwriting guide will help you.
In case you have a child who does not like to write, try using stylus pens. Not only stylus pens are fun to use but also highly effective. How you may ask? Well, there are several apps and websites dedicated to improving handwriting. If you are using stylus pens, those apps and websites will directly improve the way you write. Using stylus pens for practicing handwriting will be exciting for adults and children.
Below are the complete guide and some tips for better handwriting.
- Analyse Your Handwriting
Step 1: Write.
By writing we mean jot down a few lines on a piece of paper on your favourite topic. If you do not feel like thinking and writing, just copy a small paragraph from a book, newspaper, or magazine.
Step 2: Identify the primary shapes.
There are three main shapes involved while forming a letter – circle, semi-circle and straight lines. Your handwriting might be unclear because these shapes are not properly defined. Or maybe your letters are blending together because the corners of your letters are not clear.
Step 3: Look for the slant
Look at your handwriting to find out if your words are perpendicular to the line below, or bend rightwards/leftwards. Having a slant in your handwriting is a good sign but if your slant is too much, your handwriting appears to be shabby.
Step 4: Check the alignment
You can draw a line below your words and see if your words are parallel to the line, go upwards or move downwards. It is important for your words to align straight. An upward or a downward alignment may mix up words that are written above and below each other.
Step 5: Identify the spacing
Your handwriting might be difficult to read because the space between your words is improper. You should be able to fit an O between your words. If the space is too less, the words might appear to be cramped, and if the gap is too much, they will look widely spaced.
Proper spacing is also necessary in between the letters of a word.
Step 6: Be attentive to the size
Your letters might be too small or too large. They should be average-sized. Small handwriting is difficult to read and large handwriting takes up too much space and appears to be bulky.
Step 7: Determine your flaws
After analysing your handwriting based on above-mentioned points, the last step is to look closely and determine what all needs to be changed in your handwriting – the spacing, the alignment, some specific letters, or the size. You can also look at handwriting books and fonts online for reference.
- Change Your Handwriting
Step 1: Write in the air
People with poor handwriting might have underdeveloped muscle groups in their arms, hands, and shoulders, which monitor the way they write. In such cases, those people should write in the air using fingers ensuring their entire hand moves. This way, those muscle groups will get trained to write neatly.
Step 2: Hold the writing device properly
Whether you are using pens, pencils or stylus pens to write, make sure you hold them properly. The device should be held from your thumb and index finger. The device should lie either on the knuckle of your index finger or in your palm’s web. You should not hold the pen too tightly or too loosely and you should always hold the pen below the bottom half.
Step 3: Practice
The next step is to practice. All the letters are formed by circles, semi-circles and straight lines. You can make small grids on a paper and practice these shapes on those grids. By filling your sheet with Os’, you can practice consistent spacing.
Just like how you wrote the same letter repeatedly in kindergarten, fill a sheet with only a particular letter based on the changes you want to make.
Once you feel you have gotten better at writing letters, try full sentences. The sentence “the quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” has all the alphabets in it. Write it repeatedly to master all the aspects – alignment, spacing, letters, curves, and size. Keep on practicing until it makes your handwriting readable.
Step 4: Change your pen/pencil
Certain pens and pencils provide better grip and have thinner nibs. Keep trying new devices until you find the one that lets you write better.
Step 5: Find a suitable position
If your posture is wrong, you might not be able to write beautifully. Try changing your posture or the way the paper is kept.
Some people write the best when their papers are tilted. Find the most suitable spot to ensure good handwriting.
- Invest in Handwriting Books
To practice more, you should purchase handwriting books. If you are looking for inspiration regarding how to write certain letters, these books will help. Try slowly for a couple of days to make your words appear clear. Then you can set time limit and speed up your handwriting.
- Use Technology
The last step is to install apps or bookmark website that let you practice handwriting using stylus pens. The benefit of using stylus pens is that your entire hand will be lifted and used, unlike while writing on a paper. An added advantage is that you will save paper while practicing.
These days, people carry their smartphone everywhere but not their notebooks. If you do not want your daily practice session to hinder, use technology.
The Bottom Line
Good handwriting does not mean a well-decorated one. Your handwriting should be clear, consistent, aptly spaced, and lay in a straight line. Having good writing is important because it lets the other person read exactly what you have written. There is no scope for guessing and changing the meaning of your handwritten text.
There are various ways to improve your handwriting but the main tip is practicing regularly and consistently.
